Site Allows Photojournalists to Freelance Around Wire Services

PicSmart Inc., Washington, will debut a Web site next month that gives freelance photojournalists an alternative syndicate to newswires and other media agencies.

The site -- www.picsmart.com -- allows photographers either to retain the copyright on their images or to sell them on an exclusive basis. PicSmart will take a cut of about 30 percent.

Mimi Nishioka, spokeswoman for the site, said it is standard protocol for photojournalists to relinquish copyrights by selling their photos to wire services in one-shot deals. She said her site allows photographers to profit from nonexclusive syndication, letting them sell pictures over and over as spot news and as archived images.

The service also will be targeted at smaller publications that either cannot afford subscriptions to services such as The Associated Press or Reuters or want original photos from news events that their competitors are covering as well.